Short-liners push for long-awaited tax credit

The Building Rail Access for Customers and the Economy Act (BRACE), H.R. 510, which calls for permanence of the railroad maintenance tax credit, has now reached a tipping point as it has recorded a majority of the House as cosponsors as of June 11, with 219 Representatives signing onto the bill—and the support is remarkably bipartisan, with 111 Democrats and 108 Republicans. Companion bill S. 203 is similarly supported by both parties in the Senate, with 45 Senate co-sponsors.

“Congress is once again on record in supporting the tax credit for rehabilitation of short line railroads, as they have been in every Congress since the 109th,” said Chuck Baker, President, ASLRRA. “This tax credit is public policy that works, enabling more than $4 billion of private investment since its inception in 2005. Short lines provide the critical first and last mile from farms, energy facilities, and factories to domestic and international suppliers and customers—particularly in rural and small-town America. More than 478,000 blue-collar jobs for working Americans throughout the country are dependent on short line railroad service. Every month that the credit is in limbo further delays infrastructure investment and hinders shippers, industry suppliers and railroads from making long-term economic commitments. We urge Congress to act now to ensure that investment and innovation continue.”

A majority of members of the House Ways and Means Committee are also on record supporting Short Line Tax Credit permanence, with 22 signed on as co-sponsors, including 14 of the 25 Democrats on the Committee. It is being reported today that House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal is championing a proposal to handle a variety of expiring tax provisions alongside disaster tax relief and the expansion of some individual tax benefits. Such a proposal may be considered in Committee as early as next week.